*Ronan Kerin. Photograph: Joe Buckley
AVENUE UTD have been eliminated from the Munster Junior Cup after conceding two second half goals in the space of sixteen minutes.
Coachford AFC 2
Avenue Utd 1
Venue: Roslevan
After the high of dethroning reigning champions Cockhill Celtic in the FAI Junior Cup to seal their passage to the last sixteen, Avenue Utd suffered the low of losing out in the same stage of the Munster Junior Cup.
Captain Ronan Kerin got them off to a glorious start when he hit the net with thirty five seconds on the clock. Their rapid start coupled with the match officials starting the game three minutes before the scheduled 14:00 kick off meant some supporters missed the opening goal of the game.
From the second half onwards, it was the visitors who were the more dominant side as Avenue Utd really felt the absence of both Steven McGann and Elias Kunz, neither of whom were in their matchday sixteen. The attacking prowess of the duo was missed and so too their physical presence as it was in the physical stakes that the Cork side really began to exert their influence on the game.
This gulf in physicality was evident in the closing stages of the encounter when Avenue’s usually very strong attack instead had a much more youthful look to it.
Dylan Casey gathered possession before passing to Kerin who gave a one touch pass out wide to the left flank where Nnabuike Nneji delivered a cross that full-back Matthew Bradley put straight into the path of Kerin who made no mistake in booting the ball to the back of the net.
Moments later, Jamie Roche came close to doubling their advantage when the ball broke to him following a corner but his effort bounced off the crossbar.
An animated Coachford sideline were in full voice when it came to a penalty shout on nineteen minutes after Luke Casey collided with Seán O’Callaghan but referee Mark Rellis was having none of their protestations. Similar appeals were made by the Avenue faithful towards the latter end of the half when Ronan Kerin was brought down.
Stephen Murray did well to deny a Dylan Casey shot on twenty one minutes with the resulting corner giving Seán O’Callaghan a chance but his header went wide.
Apart from kicking the ball wide straight from the kick-off, a much more focused approach was visible from Coachford which would suggest their half-time talk centred around instilling the belief in their charges that this game was theirs for the taking.
They certainly took charge of the game, Mark O’Connell in the centre of the park and Keith Linzell in the heart of their defence made their physicality count. On the flipside, Avenue seemed to retreat into their shell and were less adventurous in their play on the restart, at their best they moved quickly, this is what led to their only goal of the game and also helped to create scoring opportunities in the opening half.
As Coachford upped the ante, Avenue became less organised in defence and found themselves outnumbered. One such example led to Adam Murphy equalising on sixty nine minutes. The ball bounced around their goalmouth after Kuba Ruminowicz’s initial save but ended up in the back of the net.
Just three minutes later, Coachford had a chance to get ahead when once again Avenue were outnumbered in defence, this time Dylan Casey found himself competing in the air against both Luke Casey and Evan O’Sullivan.
Substitute Jack Dunleavy had a chance on goal entering the final quarter of an hour but his shot tailed wide, a rushed chance at the other end from Luke Casey meant Coachford didn’t take advantage of another opportunity to nudge ahead.
Similarly Owen Hadden when introduced didn’t settle on the ball as Avenue appeared to get numbers up front, Jamie Roche moving from attack to defence following the introduction of the experienced Conor Mullen in the heart of their defence.
Mark O’Connell who was one of the standout players in the second half struck the winner on eighty five minutes. Coachford worked the ball upfield and won a throw, Avenue struggled to clear their lines in defence which allowed O’Connell a shot on goal which he certainly took advantage of to send them on their way to the quarter-finals.
Having reached the semi-finals of the competition last season, Avenue Utd will be very disappointed to have exited in the last sixteen, especially given that they failed to capitalise on home advantage. The absence of key players coupled with the manner in which they became less organised and less composed in the second half were costly while the strength of their squad when tested on this occasion didn’t stack up in terms of impact off the bench.
Nnabuike Nneji gave every last drop for Avenue as their standout player, Eoghan Thynne was effective in the opening half as was Dylan Casey but his move to left-back took him out of the contest.
For the winners, Mark O’Connell, Luke Casey, Keith Linzell, Mark Murphy and Adam Murphy were prominent.
Coachford AFC: Stephen Murray; Daniel Merrick, Mark Murphy, Keith Linzell, Matthew Bradley; Adam Murphy, Cialan O’Sullivan, Mark O’Connell, Luke Casey, Evan O’Sullivan, Jamie Griffin.
Subs: Cathal O’Neill for O’Sullivan (67)
Avenue Utd: Kuba Ruminowicz; Cullen McCabe, Seán O’Callaghan, Jamie Roche, Conor Hehir; Dylan Casey; Eoghan Thynne; Mark Roche, Nnabuike Nneji, Jack Ryan; Ronan Kerin.
Subs: Jack Dunleavy for C Hehir (64), Owen Hadden for M Roche (71), Conor Mullen for Ryan (82), Philip Talty for McCabe (88).
Referee: Mark Rellis
